The present invention relates to a method for the plastification of documents cut out or punched out of a sheet. It can be applied notably to the plastification of original documents such as identity cards or any other identity documents for example. More generally, it can be applied to the plastification of documents printed on a sheet, the condition of which must be protected for reasons of security or reliability.
The quality of plastification of identity documents plays a role notably in the security and reliability that these documents must provide. Different criteria together define this quality. Among these criteria, the evenness of the plastic edges plays a major role. For it is important that the document, for example a rectangular identity card, should be well centered in the middle of the plastic rectangle that covers it for reasons of automatic recognition or of the reliability of the document for example.
There are known methods of plastification that can be used to obtain the last-named criterion of quality. However, these methods are implemented by means of complex and costly machines, suited notably to centralized production systems that process large quantities of documents. These machines notably make use of automatic machines for localizing the position of the cards in relation to the plastic bands that cover them. This localization is done, for example, in relation to the edges of the document to be plastified. These machines also make use of means for punching through plastic covering bands.
Another known means consists in positioning the documents by hand and in checking their positioning visually. Apart from the risks of positioning errors inherent in this type of human activity, a method such as this is incompatible with a production rate of more than a few units.